Moto Hagio

(b. 1949, Japan)

Moto Hagio began to show artistic talent at a very young age. In her second year of high school she decided to become a manga artist. In 1969, Hagio made her professional debut in Nakayoshi with the short story 'Ruru to Mimi'. Later, for Shogakukan Publishing, she produced a string of short stories for various magazines, culminating in 1971 with 'Juichigatsu no Gimunajiumu'. It gave birth to a genre of girls' comics about love between young men. In 1974, Hagio developed this story into the longer 'Toma No Shinzo'. She was awarded the Sogakukan Comics Award in 1976, for her science-fiction classic 'Juichinin Iru!' and her epic tale 'Po No Ichizoku'.